Paul passes Cole test

Tottenham Hotspur (Spurs) Football Club is located in North London. The club is also known as Spurs. Tottenham's home ground is White Hart Lane. The club motto is Audere est Facere (To dare is to do).

If Paul O'Donoghue needed a marker for his progress after a serious knee injury it arrived at Stevenage Borough on Monday night.

The young defender found himself up against Chelsea hotshot Carlton Cole - currently on loan at Charlton - in a reserve team fixture against the Valley outfit.

Both Paul and his central defensive partner Ronnie Henry were in fine form and kept Cole at bay - unfortunately, their work was undone by a scrappy Charlton winner 11 minutes from time.

"I marked Carlton a couple of years ago for the Under-19s and I couldn't believe it was him," reflected Paul afterwards. "He's grown unbelievably - I think I'll need to hit the gym solidly for a year to look like him!

"Ronnie did really well against him as well and he kept switching sides between us.

"It was a good test. It's great to play against someone at that level and doing okay against him. It's want you want, to see a striker you know all about on the team sheet so you can gauge yourself against him.

"It raises your game that extra five per cent to go and do a little better. It was a good experience."